Improvement in envelopes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ALEXANDER N. LEWIS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN ENVELOPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,463, dated July 28, 1874; application filed May 21, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. SMITH, of Chicago, Cook county, State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Envelope, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to make an envelope which will securely preserve its contents, and which cannot be improperly opened without detection..

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a plan of the envelope in the form in which it is made ready to be folded.

A, B, and C represent the three flaps or wings, which, with the upper flap D and the central rectangular piece or face E, form the envelope. In each of the parts A, B, and C a slot is cut, as shown in the drawing by c 0 0 to receive the tongue 61 of the flap D. In.v

the flap A the part a is cut so that it can be folded over to occupy the position represented by the dotted lines I).

The small flap a is to be folded inwardly on flap A, and flap A is then to be folded down on the central part E. The flaps B and C are then to be folded down and gummed to flap A and each other, the slots 0, c and a coming one over the other by the operation. The flap D is then to be gummed on its entire inner face, and the tongue (1 is to be gummed on both its inner and outer faces.

Fig. 2 represents the envelope folded, gummed, and ready for use, the upper flap D being open.

The envelope is closed, after lnoistening the gum on flap D and on both faces of the tongue d, by folding over the flap D and inserting the tongue (1 into the slots 0, 0, and 0 By this operationthe flap D is gummed to the flaps B and C, and the tongue d, after passing through the slots 0, c and 0 will lie between, and be CHARLES W. SMITH.

Witnesses W. D. RAwLINs, T. D. CLEVELAND. 

